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1 Kings 16 Bible Study (Elah, Zimri, Omri & Ahab's Reigns) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Will meet me in the book of First Kings in chapter 16,
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please. This chapter that we aim to
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complete tonight will almost feel like a conveyor belt of
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truth because what we have before us is five consecutive
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accounts of five different kings who ruled and reigned in Israel.
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And their names are given to us in these added headings of our
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Bibles, but they're mentioned there in the text as well.
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But a brief glance will show us that the first one that we are
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going to deal with is Basha, the second being Edla, the third
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being Zimri, the 4th being Omri. And lastly, the infamous Ahab is
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where we will conclude our study.
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And just from a brief surface level reading of this chapter,
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you can grasp 2 features that all of these kings have in
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common. It's pretty obvious.
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And the first one is no surprise.
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The first commonality that these kings share, these kings of the
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northern tribes, is that each of them were wicked.
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No surprise, each of them were evil.
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In fact, you get the impression that as you move from one king
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to the next that the wickedness and the rebellion and the
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apostasy only gets more intense, more intense than the former
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king. That is the first thing to
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mention. The 2nd characteristic that
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these kings share is that each of them ascended and descended
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during the one single administration of the King of
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Judah. So what you're going to notice
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is that in this chapter, you have the introductions of these
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kings, and those introductions will be the time stamps of King
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ASA. And when these other kings of
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the North ascended during his reign.
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In other words, in the one reign of King ASA in the southern part
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of Israel, you're going to have 5 kings show up, disappear, show
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up again, disappear at the same time.
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And so how we're going to break down the study is the way that
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the text breaks up for us. Naturally, we're going to look
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at each of these kings. And though we're not going to
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exhaustively examine each one, though we can make each one into
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a Bible study, we will just have principles based on preview.
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And so let's read together the first few verses of First Kings
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16 as we now continue to examine the roster of the Kingdom of
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Israel verse one. And the word of the Lord came to
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Jehu the son of Hanani, against Basha, saying, Since I exalted
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you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel,
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and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my
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people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins.
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Behold, I will utterly sweep away Basha and his house, and I
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will make your house like the House of Jeroboam, the son of
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Nabat. Anyone belonging to Basha who
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dies in the city, the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies
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in the field, the birds of the heavens shall eat.
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Let's pause there before looking at the lessons of King Basha.
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Let's consider who this prophet was.
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Jehu, the son of Hanani. He appears on the scene and he
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gives a very, as you just read, a bold rebuke to this king.
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But my question is, who is he? And we have clues based on his
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lineage. He is the son of Hanani.
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Now Hananani might not be familiar to you in our study of
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First Kings, but he is familiar to us in the parallel study of
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kings which is found in Second Chronicles in chapter 16 and
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verse seven. You don't have to turn there,
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just listen to this. Han and I was a prophet himself.
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So Jehu's father was a man of God who spoke on behalf of God.
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Han and I was the one who approached a king, King ASA,
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when King ASA disobeyed the Lord, as we learned last week,
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by robbing God of His glory and his rights, by taking the gold
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from the temple and the silver and giving it to the king of
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Syria and his time of trouble to fight against the king of the
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North. Hanani was the one who
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approached King ASA and rebuked him and he was rewarded with
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imprisonment. ASA was angry and he threw him
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into jail. Now here's why this is so moving
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to me, and This is why I want to just make a brief comment.
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God raised up Han and I's son Jehu to walk in the same steps
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as his father. And what I love, though we do
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not have much about Jehu, he's mentioned more than once that we
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do not have much said about him. Isn't the fact that he is the
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son of Han? And I say enough that this man,
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though he was, yes, called by God, made a conscience choice to
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walk in the same prophetic mandate as his father, though he
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himself witnessed his father paying a high price for speaking
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the truth. I like Jehu, I'm moved by Jehu
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because here you have a man who is faithful and fearless and
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he's willing to do what God called him to do, even though he
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experienced a close pain seeing his father being treated as such
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as a man of God. And what we're going to see as
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we study kings is that though these kings will increase in
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wickedness, with that also will be the increase of the activity
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of prophets. If you actually look at the
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timeline of the kings, you'll see that a majority of the
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prophets spoke and appeared during the time of great
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apostasy. That says something about God's
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heart. Prophets are like doctors,
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spiritual doctors who appear on the scene and treat a
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spiritually sick people. They speak a bold word.
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They speak a confronting word, but with the redemptive aim of
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seeing you restored. And so when you read the
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prophetic literature of Scripture, keep in mind that
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those prophets were speaking and ministering during the times of
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these wicked rulers of both the northern tribes and the southern
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tribes. When a nation goes South in
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terms of their sin and away from God, God will raise up in His
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mercy prophets. And what do prophets really do
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in the Bible? People say, oh, they tell of
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what's to come. That's a small part of their
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ministry. The main job of a prophet is to
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tell people to go back to the word of God.
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So when you hear me or anybody else in these times, I've used
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this before, May God raise up prophets.
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What I primarily mean is May God raise up men who will speak the
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word and say get back to the Bible because that's what true
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prophet does. A lot of people claiming that
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they're prophets and they're more like fortune tellers.
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True prophets are those who say, thus says the Lord through the
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written word of the Lord and had that burning heart to see the
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bride of Christ purified and a lost world redeemed.
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And so Jehu is just one of many prophets.
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In fact, maybe you didn't realize this, but we're going to
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spend a lot of time in king studying a major prophet, not a
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major prophet in terms of him having a big part of the Bible
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with his writings, but a major prophet in terms of a figure,
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Elijah. Elijah's coming down to our
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study in the next one. So this is Jehu.
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And the first lesson that we get from King Basha is what he says
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in verse two. Look with me, we're going to try
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to do this in one setting. Since I exalted you, this is a
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Lord speaking, since I exalted you out of the dust and made you
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leader over my people, Israel. So here's what the prophet is
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saying and reminding Basha where you are right now.
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Who you are today is because of God's providential mercies.
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Your promotion has been ultimately determined by God.
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And by saying this to him, he wants him to remember that he
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relinquished and he forfeited. And he really trashed this
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opportunity to see Reform as a king, to bring the people back
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to God, and instead imitated Jeroboam in his disobedience.
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So essentially from this being conveyed, what Basha is hearing
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is you wasted. You wasted what God permitted to
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happen in your life. And it's important to know that
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this idea of promotional mercies is something that not just Basha
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should be aware of, but every person should know of as well.
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Here's a text for you to consider.
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It's very, very good In Psalm 75.
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You can look at it. Actually, I would encourage you
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to turn that, to see it with your own eyes.
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Psalm 75, verse six and seven. This is a universal principle of
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how God works in the earth, how God works in people's lives.
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It says here for not from the east or from the West and not
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from the wilderness comes lifting up.
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And then it goes on to say for not from the east or from the
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West, but it is from God who executes judgment, putting down
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one and lifting up another. In other words, when you see the
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lifting up in the bringing down, that's ultimately God's
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orchestration. I like how the King James puts
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it. The King James puts it this way.
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For promotion neither cometh from the east nor from the West.
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Promotion ultimately comes from God.
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Any kind of promotion in any sector, any sphere of life,
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exaltation comes from the exalted One.
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Many truths can be drawn from this.
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Can I give you 1 to meditate on? Please let God exalt you.
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Let God exalt you. Do not rely on being combative
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with others. Do not come to a point where you
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promote yourself, where you advertise yourself.
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Rest to know that ultimately, no matter even what you do, God is
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the one who gives permission for any kind of promotion.
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That should put you at ease, That should cause you to be
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content with where you are. And more than content, be
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faithful exactly where you are, trusting that if in God's wisdom
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He wants you to do more, He will let it happen.
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And no one can stop him. He exalts, He opens the doors,
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he shuts the doors, and he brings down.
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So he does it all essentially. And what I see here is that
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there is a comparative jewel that we can look at when we look
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at these first few words of Jehu.
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Look again at Jehu's words. He says in verse two, Since I
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exalted you out of where, tell me out of the dust.
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Now go back to what one other prophet said to King Jeroboam.
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It's only two chapters before this first Kings 14.
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Look at verse 7. Go tell Jeroboam.
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Thus says the Lord the God of Israel, because I exalted you
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from where? What does it say among the
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people? So Jeroboam was told you were
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exalted from among the people. Basha was told you were exalted
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from the dust. And why that's mentioned is to
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under score the lowliness that Basha was emerged from.
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And it was a reminder. And it is a reminder to you and
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I that the Lord can elevate and the Lord can draw out any run
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from anything or anywhere. That's the truth there.
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And so you and I have to take this at least, at least this
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truth. Be faithful unto the Lord,
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whether you are among people or whether you are as overlooked as
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dust. How much lower can you get than
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dust? How much more hidden can you be
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than dust? Among the people?
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I get it, you're among the common people, but you're at
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least on the same level as people.
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Basha. No, you're below people.
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Even I can bring you from underneath people's feet if I
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choose to do so. That's what I'm able to
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complete. And all you and I have to do is
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just wait on the Lord. And if he desires to do it, he
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will do it and just smile in every season, whether he exalts
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you or he doesn't. So he tells him that you came
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from the dust, but unfortunately, this is how you
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treated what I allowed to happen in your life.
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Now let's read in verse 5 and let's complete the rest of our
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lessons from Basha, though not limited to this, I'm sure.
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Now the rest of the acts of Vasha and what he did and his
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might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of
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the Kings of Israel? And Vasha slept with his fathers
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and was buried at Tirza, and Eli his son, reigned in his place.
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Now here's the verse that we want to park at verse 7.
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Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu, the
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son of Hanani, against Vasha and his house, both because of all
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the evil that he had done in the sight of the Lord, provoking him
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to anger. Pause.
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God is not angry. That's not his disposition.
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God is provoked to anger. Many people view God as an angry
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God. That's how the ancient Pagan
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worshippers viewed their false gods, that they constantly had
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to appease them because generally they were
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characterized by fury. Notice that God is provoked to
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anger. His disposition is love.
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His disposition, yes, holiness, yes, purity, yes, brilliance in
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light. But He is provoked to anger and
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it's sin that angers him. But we see that He is provoking
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him to anger with the work of his hands and being.
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Now this is the reason why God was provoked to anger.
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There are two reasons in being like the House of Jeroboam 1 and
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two, and also because he destroyed it.
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Interesting. Interesting because what we
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learned last week about Asha is verse 29 of chapter 15.
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Read that with me Speaking of ABBA Asha and how he ascended
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and secured the throne. We are told in verse 29 of
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chapter 15. And as soon as he was king, he
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killed all the House of Jeroboam.
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He left to the House of Jeroboam not one that breathe until he
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had destroyed it according to the word of the Lord that he
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spoke by his servant Aija, the Shiloh knight.
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So hold on, Basha destroyed the House of Jeroboam according to
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the word of the Lord. And then you come to the next
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chapter and you learn that Basha is going to be destroyed and his
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dynasty is going to come to extinction because he destroyed
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the House of Jeroboam. How do we make sense of this?
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Let's consider three things. OK, Three very brief points that
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hopefully will help. First, it's important for you to
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realize that Bosh's pursuit of the throne was not from holy
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ambition. He coveted the throne, and he so
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wanted that power, not authority that he was willing to murder
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for, and he did so. This is not coming from a holy
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place, a pure place, a good place.
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This is coming out of envy. This is coming out of selfish
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ambition. Secondly, though Bosh has
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secured the throne through unfortunate means, he did not
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take advantage of the opportunity that he had to do
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good. He did not present the
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opportunity to reform and to change the place and to
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revitalize it for the glory of God.
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Confirming the first point that he came to the throne and he
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secured and stayed on the throne for the purpose of South.
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And here's the most important part.
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We have to remember that Basha arriving to the throne and
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Jeroboam being destroyed as a result of that was prophesied.
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And just because the Lord predicts A historic shifting
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event does not mean that he authored it.
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In fact, what you'll realize about God is that if He desires
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to judge evil, He will allow and permit evil as the instrument to
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judge other evil. And that does not make him
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culpable or responsible for the evil of another.
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It's just his providential permission allowing one to do
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what he desires to do, but God in his wisdom, accomplishing his
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work through it. Baasha did destroy Jeroboam's
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household and he would be guilty for it.
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God predicted it. He is not the author of evil.
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And even when he did arrive to the throne, God was willing to
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do something of mercy towards him if he took advantage of the
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realization of where he was at. But he failed even in that.
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So he deserves to be judged as was prophesied.
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Let's go to the next king. Remember conveyor belt, right?
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We're looking at one, whoop, there go, there he goes, another
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one. OK, here we go.
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Previews and principles from these previews in this Bible
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study, let's look at the son of Basha and let's read about him.
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Verse eight, in the 26th year of ASA, king of Judah, Ela, the son
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of Basha began to reign over Israel in Tirza and he reigned 2
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years. But his servant Zimri, commander
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of half his Chariots, pause. Is the fact that Ela having
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Chariots a good thing or a bad thing?
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Why is it bad? Because kings were not to
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acquire many horses. And if you have a commander for
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half your Chariots, that's an indication that you got a lot of
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horses. So already we have an idea that
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this is not a good king. But it gets worse.
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Commander of half his Chariots conspired against him.
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So Zimri now is planning a conspiracy against Ela the king.
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When he being Ela, was at Tears, drinking himself drunk in the
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House of Arza, who was over the household of Tears, Zimri came
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in and struck him down and killed them in the 27th year of
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ASA, king of Judah, and reigned in his place.
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So Ela takes the place of his father Basha.
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He only reigns for two years before he was assassinated.
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And the fact that Ela again was a commander of Chariots is a
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clue that he was not a man who was concerned about being
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consecrated to the law of God. But Ela's problems go beyond
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that, do they not? Because what we read about him
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is, yes, he was murdered, but he was murdered in a certain state
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of mind. Let's look at it again, verse 9.
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But his servant Zimri, commander of half his Chariots, conspired
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against him when he was at Tirza drinking himself drunk in the
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House of Arza. Who is over the household in
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Tirza? So where do you find Ela the
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king of Israel? The time where he was slain, he
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was at his Co workers house drinking himself into oblivion.
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I know of people in my lifetime who have died in that same
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state, even in high school. I remember being in high school
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and we had to be brought together as a school because
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there's two students who were slain in a state of being at the
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wrong place, doing the wrong things.
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And it makes you wonder if Ela was busy doing what he was
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supposed to be doing as a king, that Zimri's conspiracy would be
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much more difficult to accomplish.
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Does that make sense? Because there is a lesson here
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based on the fact that this is presented to us in Scripture for
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our instruction, for our completion as men and women of
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God. The lesson is the way you
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socialize and the way we indulge can be deadly.
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The way you and I choose to socialize and the way you and I
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choose to indulge can be absolutely lethal.
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It's clear that Ela didn't take heed to the word of God of what
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kings were supposed to do in relationship to alcohol, right?
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Do you remember what King Lemuel heard and Proverbs 31 verse
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four? That is not for kings to drink
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or rulers to take strong drink. And it is for certain that both
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Ela and his Co worker, another ruler, did not take heed to the
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words of Solomon elsewhere where we're told this.
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And I encourage you to turn there with me in Ecclesiastes
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chapter 10, verse 16. Meet me there briefly.
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I want you to see this woe that Solomon pronounces on kings who
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choose to do something that is related to what Ela does.
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Ecclesiastes chapter 10, verse 16.
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I'll wait for you. As long as you bring your
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Bibles, I'll wait for you. Ela forgot or probably didn't
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even look at this in his lifetime.
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Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child.
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And that is not limited to age, by the way, because there were
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kings who were young and they were righteous.
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Speaks of your maturity. When your king is a child and
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your Princess feast in the morning.
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Question for you, especially for my Middle Eastern friends.
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Is it wrong to feast? No, not wrong to feast.
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Is it wrong to feast in the morning?
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Depends the occasion. But it was wrong for kings and
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Princess and rulers to feast in the morning because the Bible
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tells us that kings were to be preoccupied with a different
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kind of activity before the heat of the day would arrive.
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And we even have a verse of what kings were to do in the morning
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time according to the prophet Jeremiah.
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You can turn there if you'd like.
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I'll quote it to you. Anyway, it's found in Jeremiah
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chapter 21, verse 12, and it'll be up there on the screen.
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But notice what the prophet says to the House of David and
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Jeremiah 2112, O House of David. Thus says the Lord, Execute
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justice when? In the afternoon, at night time.
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No, no, execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the
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hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed, lest my wrath
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go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it because of
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your evil deeds. So he's speaking to the House of
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David. He's specifically speaking to
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the rulers, and he's saying, oh, rulers, it's your job that
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you've neglected to execute justice.
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What time of the day? In the morning?
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In other words, we're being told here that the priority of the
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activity of the king is to administer justice.
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First thing of the day is to occupy the seat of justice and
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to give judgement and to administer wisdom and to give
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consultation and as a result to see the oppressor free and to
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see people experience God's righteousness through that
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vessel of a king. And so we see here that the
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morning they are to be busy and what does Solomon say?
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Woe to your land when your Princess feast instead of
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fulfilling their God-given role as a king in the land.
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Here's the larger principle. Misguided priorities are
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spiritually deadly for you and for others, especially if
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whatever you try to replace your God-given responsibility with,
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even if it's in the pursuit of pleasure or delight, it will
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kill you and it will harm others.
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Woe to you, O land, when your Princess feast in the morning,
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when Jeremiah says you're supposed to be busy doing
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something else in the morning, O kings.
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And so we have to understand that if we do not properly frame
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our interactions and our activities, then we're in
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trouble. And that's what we see in the
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next verse of Ecclesiastes 10. The reward of doing it the way
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God calls us to do it. Happy are you old land?
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Happy are you old land? When your king is the son of
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nobility and your Princess feast, when does it say it?
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Oh, it's not there at the proper time.
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A feasting is not wrong. When they feast in Ecclesiastes
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10/17 at the proper time. The morning is not the proper
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time. There are other times where
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you're supposed to be doing that.
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And notice this when they feast. Yes, for strength and not for
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drunkenness. So a righteous king does not
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just eat for delight, he eats for strength.
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And so he's not mastered by anything.
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He's ultimately mastered by his God-given call.
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And he sees anything else that's inferior to that as a means, as
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instruments for him to better do what God's called him to do and
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be effective where God's called him be effective.
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So he eats, yes, he feasts, but it's his fuel, it's his energy
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and he does not allow any delight, any delight.
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I don't care what that delight is, whether it's a morsel or
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it's a person, or it's your job, or it's your endeavors or it's
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your hobbies. Nothing will distract him from
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his ultimate responsibility of glorifying God in the context
26:35
that he's been called. Never forget, listen, that
26:40
self-control will prosper you. self-control is a lost art and
26:48
it's rarely proclaimed from the pulpit for fear of being
26:51
indicted by the people of being legalistic.
26:53
It's biblical. And don't be those Christians
26:56
that look at things in the Bible that are clear and call it
26:59
legalistic just because you don't like it.
27:02
People do that. It's legalism.
27:03
No, it's actually Bible. Legalism is when you take your
27:06
ideas and impose them on the scripture or you take light
27:08
things and make the major things.
27:10
But when it's clear, it's a command and we are people who
27:12
obey commands. Yes, we people who love the
27:14
grace of God. Happy are you O land.
27:19
self-control doesn't just prosper you, it prospers others
27:22
around you. Notice he didn't say happy are
27:24
you O king? He says happy are you O land.
27:29
In other words, yourself control and your scripturally framed
27:35
priorities will bless everything around you.
27:38
It's going to bless your marriage.
27:40
It will bless your marriage. It will bless your relationship
27:42
with your friends. It will bless your finances.
27:44
It will bless your business. It will bless your local church.
27:49
But when you refuse to by the power of the Holy Spirit
27:52
exercise that self-control that leads to a more prosperous life.
27:56
Listen to this. It is a sure destination to a
28:00
slow spiritual suicide. So Ela was found drunken,
28:07
doesn't say if he was there in the morning, but he was there in
28:09
the morning. Excuse me?
28:10
He was there in Azra's house, and whether there he was in the
28:13
morning or not, Zimmering knew of his whereabouts.
28:17
For him to be able to come and do what he did and to commit
28:20
this great crime. So it shows, I believe, that Ela
28:22
was in that place in a frequent way, and I'm sure that he was
28:26
there in the morning as well. And this is what led ultimately,
28:29
not ultimately, but it did contribute to his death.
28:34
And Speaking of suicide, that is what will stand out in the next
28:37
King's story. Let's go to it together.
28:44
We'll skip verses 11 to 14 as it gives us a familiar commentary
28:49
about why this king was judged and why he was ultimately
28:53
destroyed by God. But let's come down to Zimri
28:55
story. In the 27th year of ASA, king of
29:00
Judah, Zimri reigned 7 days in tears.
29:03
That's got to be a world record of some sort.
29:06
Seven days. Imagine being a king for a week.
29:10
We thought two years were short. Seven days now the troops were
29:15
camped against Gibbethan which belonged to the Philistines.
29:19
We talked about Gibbethan last week and the troops who were
29:23
encamped heard it said Zimri has conspired and he has killed the
29:26
king. Therefore all Israel made Umri
29:30
the commander of the army, king over Israel.
29:32
That day in the camp saw Umri went up from giveth on and all
29:36
Israel with him and they besieged Tirza.
29:39
And when Zimri saw that the city was taken, he went into the
29:43
citadel of the King's house and burned the King's house over him
29:47
with fire and died. What a gruesome way to die
29:52
because of his sins that he committed, doing evil in the
29:56
sight of the Lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam, and for his
29:59
sin which he committed, making Israel to sin.
30:02
Now the rest of the acts of Zimri and the conspiracy that he
30:05
made, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of
30:08
the Kings of Israel. So Zimri now, who killed by Asha
30:14
and his household, he fulfilled the word of the Lord by the
30:17
mouth of Jehu, He reigns and he reigns for a week.
30:21
And in that week, we learned that he assumed too much.
30:26
He seizes the throne. And because of him seizing the
30:31
throne, we see that because of the lack of things taking place
30:37
so quickly, as they do in our day, word went about in a matter
30:40
of a few days that Zimri has become king.
30:43
And Zimri again made this decision without realizing an
30:47
important factor of becoming a king, especially in the way that
30:49
he did it. You need people to support you.
30:54
And he didn't have the popular vote.
30:57
In fact, when everybody heard Zimri becomes king, they go.
31:00
He doesn't he, he's not supposed to be the king.
31:03
Omri should be the king. And so they elect Omri.
31:08
Omri has the entire support of the nation of Israel.
31:12
And what happens? They besiege the capital.
31:17
Zimri looks out of his window and he sees that he is
31:20
surrounded by the people that he thought that he was going to
31:23
rule and that they were going to accept them.
31:25
And this is this is his decision.
31:29
I have no chance. Because as you know, the pattern
31:33
of this time was if a rival person was to come and attack
31:37
your throne, they would not only attack you and ask you to kindly
31:41
move and say some mean things to you, they would kill you and
31:43
they would kill your descendants and kill everyone associated
31:45
with you so that there would be no usurping in the future.
31:48
So Zimri knows that he's finished.
31:51
And So what does he do? He's, he chooses to finish
31:53
himself. I'll, I'll just do the job on my
31:57
own. This is one of a few accounts
32:02
and records of suicide in the Bible.
32:04
This is one of them. There's actually a total of
32:08
seven. And to make this a little bit
32:11
more interactive, I'm curious to know if you know some of them.
32:14
Can you tell me the different records in the Scripture where
32:17
we're told of a man who committed suicide?
32:20
Samson is 1. One at a time.
32:23
I'll just lift your hands so we don't talk over each other,
32:25
please. Yes, Judas is the obvious one.
32:27
So let me, let me put it this way.
32:28
Now, there's only one in the New Testament that our brother just
32:31
mentioned, and the rest are in the Old Testament.
32:32
We ought to be dealt with. Samson, Judas.
32:34
Yes, Saul, very good. Saul is another one.
32:39
So that's three. Any other ones?
32:48
All right, if you remember, let us know.
32:54
Oh, that's that's one that people don't have to get.
32:56
But you got to figure out the name.
32:57
I can't just give it to you. You're on it, though.
33:00
You're on it. I'll give you a hint.
33:03
He's in the book of Judges. Samson is in the book of Judges.
33:06
But there was somebody else before him who committed this
33:09
grievous act of self murder. He was the son of a very notable
33:17
figure, one that you hear about in your Sunday school
33:20
curriculum. He's the son of somebody who God
33:25
told him to diminish his army down to a few 100.
33:32
Do you know? I saw, yes, Abimelech.
33:36
Abimelech is the first one. Yes, absolutely.
33:39
In Judges Chapter 9. Then there is Samson.
33:41
Then there is Saul. We touched on Zimri.
33:45
We touched on Judas. There's two others.
33:48
Two others. I think Volvo is another one.
33:53
Yes. When he realized that his plot
33:56
was not honored by Absalom, he went home and he put his house
33:59
in order and he hung himself. There's one more.
34:02
There's one more. OK, that was something else.
34:16
That was actually an act of murder, but that's a good guess.
34:20
There's one more. I'll give you a hint.
34:22
I'll just give you one hint, Saul.
34:25
That's all I'm going to say. And then we have to move forward
34:28
because I don't want this to drag too, too long.
34:31
Saul's the hint. Saul's armor bearer.
34:36
You got it. Good job.
34:37
Yes. When Saul killed himself, the
34:39
armor bearer thought, OK, I might as well join him.
34:42
So those are the seven accounts. And I argue that there could
34:44
have been, I'm sure there could have been more that.
34:46
But there is a close call of another New Testament individual
34:51
who could have been mentioned along with this horrific list of
34:56
people who have come to such desperation in their lives.
34:59
Can you think of a New Testament person who was close to
35:03
committing that act but was spared?
35:10
What's that? The Philippian jailer?
35:15
Can I show you that in Acts 16 verse 27 there could have been
35:25
another suicide record in the Bible, but it was prevented by
35:28
something that, listen you and I must believe is able to rescue
35:32
anyone from such despair, even if such despair reaches a point
35:37
where self murder seems to be a better alternative.
35:41
Read this with me in Acts 1627. When the jailer woke and saw
35:44
that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about
35:49
to kill himself. Supposing that the prisoners had
35:53
escaped. Why would the jailer want to
35:55
kill himself realizing that the prisoners had escaped?
36:00
That could be one idea. Yes, his authorities would have
36:05
killed him. Yes, I think that's more likely
36:07
that the authorities would have given him the verdict of these
36:10
prisoners and for letting them escape, they would have now put
36:14
him to the butcher's block. And so he thought to himself,
36:18
I'm finished. Like my, my, my authorities are
36:20
merciless. So let me just let just like
36:21
Jimmy, let me just do the job myself.
36:23
But something prevented him. Two men who were so filled with
36:28
God, two men who had the hope of the gospel, who brought this man
36:34
to salvation. So here you have an individual
36:37
that's ready, who's so hopeless, who's so overcome with grief and
36:42
concern and worry, with a bleak future, but was apprehended by
36:48
two men who, instead of escaping for their own benefit, chose to
36:53
remain in order to provide hope. Hey, we're still here.
37:00
Don't do this to yourself. And then this man asked, as he
37:04
trembled and fell before them, What must I do to be saved?
37:08
What provoked the jailer to say that this hardened, brutal,
37:13
tough man, to be weak in the knees and to be melted like
37:18
this, to say what must have to be saved?
37:20
Well, remember, before this and before the earthquake, you had
37:23
two men, the same men who were singing hymns and praying to God
37:26
at midnight, and they were heard.
37:28
And I'm sure the jailer heard it too, and I'm sure something was
37:33
trying to register in his mind. How do you have these two guys
37:35
that have fresh wounds in their back, who are bleeding, who are
37:39
bruised, who are battered? How is it that they have so much
37:43
hope? What is it that they believe in
37:48
that can have them singing in this way, though, treated in
37:53
this way? I want to know what they have.
37:58
People often ask, is it possible for a true Christian to commit
38:01
suicide? And the way I answer is this,
38:07
that in a moment of extreme weakness, in a season of
38:10
incredible challenges, a Christian is capable of many
38:15
things. Is that not true?
38:19
But what I will say with that is that if there is somebody who
38:22
professes Christ and consistently contemplates and
38:28
justifies something as severe as suicide, you and I have every
38:34
right to challenge that person to examine the sincerity of
38:38
their faith. And the reason why I say that is
38:41
because the Bible characterizes Christians in many ways.
38:45
And one of the ways is that Christians are overcome by this
38:50
thing called hope. We are a hopeful people, not
38:56
wishful thinking, not just hope for a thing to come.
39:01
When I pass from this life, a hope that is so weighty and such
39:05
an anchor to our lives that it brings about deliverance day by
39:09
day. The Christian is characterized
39:13
by hope. And what is suicide?
39:16
Ultimately, it's an act of total and ultimate hopelessness, one
39:22
that convinces you because you do not believe you have purpose
39:26
or that the things around you happening have purpose.
39:30
And I want to show you by way of example how this hope is not
39:34
just a tenet of our faith or something that we kind of throw
39:38
around as Christians is something that has real impact
39:42
on the life of a believer. So Paul says something in Second
39:46
Corinthians 18 where he is ambiguous in the nature of his
39:51
trial, but he says this trial that we are enduring is so
39:54
intense that we despaired of life itself.
40:00
Paul is saying that we're not talking about a weak Christian
40:03
here. We're talking about a strong, if
40:06
not the strongest example of what a Christian should look
40:09
like and live like. And yet even such a man was
40:12
susceptible to such a temptation, where he says in
40:15
Second Corinthians 18, Let me read it to you in his own words,
40:18
for we do not want you to be unaware, brothers.
40:21
Of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly
40:25
burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life
40:30
itself. This was so overwhelming.
40:33
This was so overbearing, this was so consuming that we
40:37
thought, man, I can't live like this.
40:42
And yet 2 verses later in verse 10, notice what he says.
40:45
He delivered us from such a deadly peril and he will deliver
40:50
us on him. We have set our what?
40:53
Our hope. So this Christian hope, this
40:58
gospel hope, this Christ centered hope is powerless,
41:02
powerful enough to deliver you from the powerful temptation of
41:06
despairing of life itself. You know this is true or this is
41:11
just poetic license. No, it's true.
41:15
It's real, and it changes people.
41:19
So, yeah, a Christian is capable of much in a place, in a season,
41:24
even in a moment of extreme grief, pain, confusion,
41:29
frustration. But I would say, one who
41:31
consistently entertains and justifies such an act, those
41:37
around it and him himself, must call for an examination of the
41:42
sincerity of that faith, as you would any other sin that one
41:47
would justify, and consistently meditate on thinking that they
41:51
are allowed to do it. So we come to our 4th king.
41:57
And verse 21. Then the people of Israel were
42:04
divided into two parts. Half of the people followed
42:07
Tibney the son of Ganath to make him king, and half followed
42:12
Omri. This is a mess.
42:15
OK, so you already have the nation divided in two, and now
42:18
we're focused on the northern part.
42:20
And within the northern tribes you have another division.
42:23
Sin divides, Sin splits up. A Kingdom that is divided in
42:29
this way cannot stand. And so now you have two parts
42:33
within the one part and you have half the people who follow this
42:37
guy named Tibney and the other half who want to follow this guy
42:39
that they like the name Umri. And what I find so interesting
42:42
is a brief note is that before we read earlier that all of
42:45
Israel wanted Umri and now half of the people want to don't put
42:52
any stock in the recognition and praise from people.
42:55
It's very short lived. It's very fickle.
43:00
One day they praise you, the next day they condemn you.
43:04
So don't put too much, don't put any rather of your identity, of
43:08
your esteem, of your joy and what people have to say, because
43:13
one day they want you to be there and the next day want
43:15
somebody to replace you. So now we read that the people
43:20
wanted this other king, but Omri was a brilliant general.
43:26
So in verse 22. But the people who followed Omri
43:28
overcame the people who followed Tibney, the son of Ghanaut.
43:31
So Tibney died and Omri became king in the 31st year of ASA,
43:35
king of Judah. Umri began to reign over Israel
43:38
and he reigned for 12 years, Six years he reigned in Tirza.
43:42
He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of
43:47
silver, and he fortified the hill and called the name of the
43:50
city that he built Samaria after the name of Shemer, the owner of
43:54
the hill. So Tirza was the capital for
43:58
quite some time of the Northern Kingdom.
44:01
Under Omri's administration, he transfers the capital over to a
44:04
place called Samaria. Why?
44:06
Because strategically it made sense.
44:08
It was a hill. There was geographical advantage
44:11
to that. You had created greater
44:14
difficulty for any invasion, and you had a greater outlook of the
44:17
horizon and your surroundings. So this makes sense from a
44:20
military standpoint. But we read on and we see
44:24
something that is crushing, because despite any
44:26
accomplishment, the Spirit of God does not speak highly of
44:30
this man. Verse 25.
44:32
Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more
44:35
evil than all who were before him.
44:39
So if Zimri broke the record of the shortest reign in Israel's
44:43
history, Omri broke the record of reaching to new lows for the
44:50
evil one can commit. As a king, he did more evil than
44:54
all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of
44:57
Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, and in the sins that he made Israel
45:00
to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel to anger by their
45:03
idols. What did Omri do?
45:09
We're not told in detail, but we do have an indication of another
45:13
place because he's barely mentioned in the Bible.
45:15
But in this one other place where he is mentioned, we have
45:19
an idea of the caliber of his wickedness.
45:23
It's an interesting place in the Bible.
45:25
Mark it down if you don't want to turn there now, I'll read it
45:28
to you and Micah. In Micah 6, verse 16, the
45:34
prophet pronounces an indictment against that generation, and
45:38
this is the explanation of their ways.
45:42
For you have kept the statutes of Omri and all the works of the
45:50
House of Ahab. So based on this, Omri was not
45:54
just like a silly Sinner, right? He was not just this kind of
45:59
foolish man who was just self absorbed and did things here and
46:02
there. This man created laws that
46:06
encouraged and discipled an entire generation and nation
46:10
into sin. He had laws.
46:13
Laws are contrary to God's laws. Laws that perhaps even punish
46:17
those who would not submit to his desires.
46:20
He had statutes. And I believe that indicates the
46:23
level of evil that this man was consumed by, that he caused
46:28
other people to intentionally sin by way of legislation, by
46:32
way of even punishment in terms of disobeying what he had asked
46:37
of them. And so this man was evil.
46:40
He was wicked. And if you think this man was
46:43
bad, our final king will prove otherwise.
46:47
But let me say this as a side note.
46:48
If you're one who enjoys history and you like to see how world
46:54
history coincides and correlates and complements biblical
46:57
history, look up Omri and you'll realize that there are ancient
47:02
artifacts from the Moabites and the Assyrians that mention Omri
47:06
by name. And I just like those things
47:10
from time to time because they are just Nuggets of God's
47:13
providential preservations to show us that this Bible is, in
47:16
fact, true. And so Omri was mentioned
47:19
because he was praised even by neighboring nations of being a
47:22
very successful commander and leader at this time in history.
47:25
Look it up for yourself. But let's come to our final king
47:28
as we close our Bible study. You know this man, I'm sure it's
47:31
the son of Omri. His name is Ahab.
47:35
Look at verse 29 with me in the 38th year of ASA.
47:40
Remember, every single king that we've touched on so far has been
47:45
during the reign of ASA. In the 38th year of ASA, king of
47:49
Judah, Ahab the son of Umri began to reign over Israel.
47:55
And Ahab the son of Umri reigned over Israel and Samaria 22
47:59
years. And Ahab, the son of Emory, did
48:03
evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before
48:07
him, including his father. And here is what he is notorious
48:13
for. Here's what is underscored and
48:15
emphasized about Ahab. Verse 31.
48:18
Look at how the spirit inspired the author to write this.
48:21
And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the
48:24
sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, he took for his wife
48:27
Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbao, king of the Cydonians.
48:34
It's like, as though it wasn't enough for him to do what
48:37
Jeroboam did. You know what Ahab did?
48:40
He married a woman named Jezebel.
48:43
For somebody to speak like that about your wife says something
48:46
about your wife says something about this woman, and you're
48:51
going to discover that. Though Ahab imitated the faults
48:58
of many perform, including Solomon, who imported much
49:02
idolatry through his political marriage alliances, the
49:05
impression that you're supposed to get by reading this is that
49:08
Jezebel is going to cause more problems than Solomon's 1000
49:12
wives combined. She's going to cause more issues
49:17
to the Kingdom of Israel than all those other women who
49:20
preceded her. And that is something that you
49:24
and I have to brace ourselves for.
49:26
And we get a hint of it already here.
49:27
Notice verse 31. Jezebel, the daughter of Ethel,
49:30
king of the Cydonians. And the next part is meant to
49:34
show us that because of Jezebel's influence over Ahab,
49:37
this is what happens. And went and served Baal and
49:41
worshipped him. Look at verse 32.
49:43
He erected an altar for Baal in the House of Baal, which he
49:48
built in Samaria. Now we've seen kings before this
49:54
build temples and high places and stations of false worship
49:58
here and there. But what we're supposed to see
50:01
here is that Ahab takes it to another level, because Ahab does
50:07
build this House of worship, but in the capital city of the
50:11
northern Kingdom. And though most of these wicked
50:16
kings are being compared to Jeroboam, when Jeroboam
50:20
introduced idolatry to the northern tribes, he made an
50:22
attempt to try to refashion the religion of Yahweh.
50:29
And so he tried to incorporate this thing with the truth that
50:32
they were familiar with. He tried to even mimic the
50:34
feasts and all of that, right? So he's trying to do this thing
50:38
where you get the flavor of the Lord's truth, and he's bleeding
50:43
it in with his own ideas. But that's not what what Ahab
50:47
does. Ahab is not looking to
50:50
integrate. He's not looking to mingle.
50:51
He's not looking to any of that. Ahab is looking to completely
50:55
replace Yahweh from the minds and the devotions and the
50:59
worship of the nation of Israel. So he under Jezebel's leading
51:06
institutes, Baal worship, listen as the state religion for
51:10
Israel. And Jezebel would be so
51:15
ferocious in her pursuit of wanting Baal to be recognized
51:20
that she will even hunt down the prophets of the Lord, as you and
51:23
I are about to discover in the coming chapters.
51:26
So this is a a new campaign, a new kind of campaign where
51:32
Israel's existence as being distinct, as a covenant people
51:36
is now on the brink of extinction.
51:38
This is serious, this is severe, this is heartbreaking.
51:43
Jericho, he laid its foundation at the cost of a Byram, his
51:48
first bullet. Cursed be the man who rebuilds
51:51
the walls of the city, and cursed be the man who rebuilds
51:56
it. At what cost?
51:58
At the cost of his first born shall he lay its foundation, and
52:02
at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.
52:06
There was a permanent perpetual curse looming over the people if
52:13
anyone would entertain and execute the resurrection of the
52:17
city of Jericho, and this man does it.
52:23
But what's the connection? Look at the 1st 3 words of verse
52:26
34. In his days.
52:29
Whose days? The days of Ahab.
52:32
You know what this is meant to convey.
52:33
Ahab as a leader created such an atmosphere in such an
52:38
environment that it encouraged people to do the unthinkable.
52:44
Leaders have that kind of an influence.
52:46
You have this individual here who felt confident enough to
52:51
challenge God's curse and check this out.
52:55
At the laying of the foundation, the eldest dies and he doesn't
52:59
even stop there. He continues to complete the
53:02
project at the death and at the cost of his other son's life.
53:07
You're saying what wouldn't Hail be familiar with this curse?
53:11
Most likely. But what does it mean for
53:15
somebody to do such a thing, even at the price of losing his
53:19
sons, when you have been living in an environment where you're
53:23
conditioned to sacrifice your children?
53:28
That's what people were doing day in and day out around them.
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And so it meant nothing at this point of Israel's history to
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give up your children. We've been doing this in the
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Northern Kingdom for quite some time.
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And so it was effortless. It wasn't even a second thought
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to do this grievous thing. And really what this meant to
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show us is to give us just a little taste of the path that
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Ahab as a ruler was leading this people into.
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And at the same time, I would say that this is an act of God's
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mercy towards Ahab, because in God honoring his word by
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executing judgment in the way that he prophesied many
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generations ago. You know what that would
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communicate to Ahab and Jezebel? I take my word seriously.
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I'm not playing around here. Ahab Jezebel, you think that you
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can bring in Baal to eclipse my glory in this place?
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Realize that by doing so, and let me show you by way of
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example, that I am looking at you.
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I'm marking you, and I will execute vengeance against you.
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If anything, like we've seen with Jeroboam, this was meant to
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awaken Ahab to his senses and to repent before he he met a
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similar fate and they would meet similar fates in years to come.
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Here's an here's a practical truth you could draw from this
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and seeing he all do this under the leadership of Ahab.
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Leaders have to realize this sobering rule.
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As a leader, you are leading people in a direction whether
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you are intending to do so or not.
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By people choosing to submit under your direction, you will
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bear the responsibility of where you lead.
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People do not covet the place of leadership, my friend, And those
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who currently stand as leaders understand that there are souls
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under your care, especially if you're in the place of an elder.
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So this is a sobering reminder that your holiness can rub off
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on others, and your lack of holiness can equally rub off on
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others. What you do in your private
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life, what you do before the people of God, how you treat
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this word, all these things that you have to factor in does not
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remain with you. It will spill over to others.
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Now, that is the rule, a sobering one for leaders.
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But there's also a warning for those who are not leaders.
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For those who are not leaders, hear me very carefully.
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You have to make a conscious and calculated choice in your life,
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especially in your spiritual life, about which leadership you
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choose to sit under. People often ask what should I
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look for in a local church? And this is my go to answer.
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Look at the leadership of that church.
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Look at the leadership of the church because the leadership
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will ultimately determine the direction of that church.
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The leadership will ultimately determine the reverence and the
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esteem and the obedience and the standard of that local body.
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So if you want to know if this is a place that I want to commit
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to, look no further than those who are in charge and you'll get
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everything that you need to know about whether or not this church
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is healthy or not. So be careful who you choose to
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sit under. Be careful men, especially the
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men here who are now seeing not just the blessing of marriage,
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but the blessing of babies coming into your life.
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You have to also make a choice today, tomorrow, every day for
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the rest of your life, as long as you're in this world.
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Who am I going to allow to speak spiritual truths to my family
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every week? These are things that we must
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give ear to. And this is not going to be the
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last time we hear of Ahab. In fact, for the rest of the
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Book of First Kings, he's going to be the main feature of
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Israel's history at this time. And I'm excited to see what God
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does when a leadership from a governmental standpoint, from a
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spiritual leadership standpoint goes S what does God do?
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You know what you're going to discover in First Kings 17?
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He raises up men of God. I'm excited to get there.
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Let's thank God for this Bible study, please.
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Well, we know that it is not often that we examine a portion
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of Scripture at this rate and at this pace, but we trust that
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what's been said did something to our hearts.
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And Lord, we pray that these truths would not be easily
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forgotten, but we would have recall and we would be able to
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remember them. We were able to connect them
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with other truths. We were able to see the harmony
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and the Symphony of the Word of God as we personally study
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through it. And as we study through it
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together, many truths from so many angles have come to us.
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Lord, help us apply what you want us to apply.
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And Lord, at the close of this service, we are grateful for the
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weekly reminder that there is no King like the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now we worship him in spirit and in truth.
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As we look to you in song, in Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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There is no king like King Jesus.
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Let's stand and worship him because he's the living King.